Saturday...in "The Park"...it felt like the 4th of July -- Bonnaroo 2010 - Day 3

Saturday June 12, 2010

It not only takes a lot of dedication and long hours to attend Bonnaroo, but it can also be the same for those playing at what is now known as "Great Stage Park." That was the case for Jonathon Tyler & the Northern Lights, a stripped-down Texas rock-n-roll and blues band who had performed the night before on the west coast at the famous Fillmore Theatre in San Francisco and then made it in for a high noon 30-minute set across the country in Manchester, Tennessee. Now that's dedication to music, friends! The quartet made the most of their short stint at the festival with a fiery rockin' handful of original songs in the Troo Music Lounge. It was a great way to kick off another busy and hot day at Bonnaroo 2010.

This year was definitely the hottest temps we have encountered at the festival so far. We've had a little bit of everything in the past with storms, heavy rain and some searing sun at times, but this year the sunlight was fairly relentless with only a few scattered clouds. This fact sent the tens of thousands in attendance seeking any manner of shade possible. The line-up today that perked our interest the most during the hottest afternoon hours were all on the Which Stage which has very little cover if you want a vantage point of any worth. Fortunately, the sound engineering is world-class at Bonnaroo and if you could find a little shade like we did then you didn't necessarily need to see the stage for an artist like Norah Jones who's all about smooth vocals.

We lost our shade with the path of the sun during the day and it made a tough decision a little easier. We wanted to see The Avett Brothers - a folk-rock band from North Carolina who are rising fast in popularity - following Norah Jones, but we also had heard great things about Mumford & Sons - another energetic rock folk band from south London playing at the same time. The Brits won out thanks to the fact they were playing in one of the covered tents. Similarly to The Gossip the day before - what started out as a decision to watch a band for a somewhat selfish reason turned into a discovery of a great experience. These guys are stunning live and "the kids" as we call them (anyone under 25) and there are lots of them at Bonnaroo, but not usually at the same shows we are at, really loved these guys and knew every word of their catchy songs. We can't wait to see these guys again. We did slip out toward the end and catch a few songs of The Avett Brothers who were also good but the huge crowd watching them blocked us from really getting a feel for them. We are fortunately going to get a chance to see them again soon as we just learned they are coming to The Ryman in October.

After the Avetts came Weezer to the Which Stage. They are an entertaining, somewhat silly, and now obviously aging, "pot-head" band who have had a few radio hits through the years. We watched them for a while, again from a great distance, before heading over to settle in for the night's headliner, the legendary Stevie Wonder.

We found a good spot fairly close to the giant What Stage and waited while the sun set and the temperature and humidity dropped pleasantly. Conan O'Brien took a break from his stints in the Bonnaroo Comedy Tent (not worth standing in line for - trust us) to come on the big stage and introduce Stevie to the huge crowd. Stevie and his excellent band sounded great and he is looking great for his age and you never really realize how many great songs he has until you hear him deliver them one after another. Well done, sir!